Kerala Malabar Fish Biryani

Ingredients

• Neimeen (seer fish) - 1/2 kg
• Kaima rice (jeerakasala rice) - 1/2 kg
• Onion - 3 whole
• Green chilies - 6 whole
• Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato - 2 whole
• Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
• Coconut - 1/2 whole
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Oil
• Salt
• Cashews - 8 whole
• Raisins - 10 whole
• Coriander leaves - 1 whole
• Pudina leaves - 1 tbsp

Instructions

1. 1Prepare the fish by rinsing and patting the pieces dry, then coat them with turmeric, red chilly powder and salt; refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors develop.
2. 2Heat oil in a pan and fry the marinated fish pieces until they are golden and just cooked through, then transfer them to a plate and keep aside.
3. 3Warm 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan, fry the cashews and raisins until they are golden, remove and keep aside, then fry 1 chopped onion in the same ghee until it is deep golden for garnish and set aside.
4. 4In the remaining oil, sauté the remaining chopped onions with the ginger and garlic paste; once the raw smell disappears, add the chopped green chilies, coriander leaves, pudina leaves, chopped tomatoes and garam masala powder and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down.
5. 5Blend or grind the coconut to a fine paste, stir it into the sautéed spices, add a little warm water and let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes to marry the flavors.
6. 6Gently add the fried fish to the coconut masala and fold carefully so the pieces do not crumble; cover and cook for 2 minutes so the fish becomes evenly coated and the gravy thickens, then remove from the heat.
7. 7For the rice, heat ghee in a pan, lightly fry the rice until it smells toasty, then add water in double the quantity of rice, season with salt and a pinch of turmeric and cook until the rice is done.
8. 8To assemble, heat a little ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan and spread a layer of the fish masala on the base, then add a layer of the cooked biryani rice and sprinkle some garam masala over it; repeat the layers until all the rice and masala are used.
9. 9Scatter the fried raisins, cashews and chopped coriander over the top, cover with a tight lid and cook on a slow flame for 5 minutes to let the layers settle and the aromas meld.
10. 10Serve hot with raita, coconut chammanthi, pappadam and pickle as accompaniments (optional).